90% of games bought online by 2018, claims SCEE's Maguire
by Nick Doerr 
{ Apr 12th 2008 at 7:00PM }
But it's not really an issue limited to the videogame software industry: "... that's not true with ISPs in the future. This isn't merely a games industry issue. It's an issue for every industry with companies that have a website – and when we look at user generated content, it's a people issue." So what do you guys think? Will we have almost complete destruction of the retail industry in ten years, or will we still have access to both?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Liquid Ocelot (call me Liquid) @ Apr 12th 2008 7:06PM
Going to have to say no. I prefer both, but Wii owners don't even know what downloadable games are. 90% is a bold claim...
frankym @ Apr 12th 2008 7:06PM
Digital distribution is the wave of the future
Jove @ Apr 12th 2008 7:14PM
if u said by 2010 then i would say no but by 2018 it would make sence. so yes i agree.
Jove @ Apr 12th 2008 7:14PM
so wii owners dont know? lol.
fragilefilter27 @ Apr 12th 2008 7:16PM
Netflix, XBL, PSN, ITunes, and Steam. I think if anyone should worry is the brick-and-mortar stores. Still you can't beat unwrapping a new game.
Syn @ Apr 12th 2008 7:20PM
Hard to say. By 2018 we'll have the next gen systems.
Now if all games are online, the amount of 'buyers' will actually drop. Not everyone has an internet connection as of now. And unless all cities/countries upgrade their current internet/servers, it will actually cause more problems. Hell downloading a demo on PSN at the sametime as thousands of other people, takes forever. Now try downloading an entire game. Id rather own a hardcopy then download an entire game. PS4 better have a couple Terabytes...
Dehshizknight @ Apr 12th 2008 11:03PM
Lol, that means they won't have a disk/cartridge drive at all!!!
MCX @ Apr 12th 2008 7:39PM
Cant wait will we can do away with all monitors and just upload the games directly to our brains and kill the video display industry.
Jove @ Apr 13th 2008 4:15AM
lmao
never$$hort @ Apr 12th 2008 7:49PM
It would be a sad day if physical media completely dies out.. But I think its safe to say that in 2018 DD will definitely be more mainstream.
Kspraydad @ Apr 12th 2008 7:54PM
As long as I can archive the games so that when the server that is acting as back up to your download eventually gets shut down I can still own and play the game.
/breaks out his 5.25 floppies for some Loadrunner fun.
Ghostbuddy @ Apr 12th 2008 7:55PM
No...
Theres no benefit to the consumer if they buy games online. Theres only negatives.
Digital distribution means no more lending games to and from friends. No more renting games from Blockbuster before buying. Digital distribution means no more backwards capadibility. No more returning a game. It means, if your hardware is stolen, breaks or is destroyed ever single game you bought is lost. Hundreds of dollars out of the window. If your computer gets a nasty virus, and you have to clear everything out. Bang you've lost hundreds of dollars worth of games. Just to play a game your going to have to go through large download times. Game distribution is not casual friendly. People don't want to put there credit card on the net, to buy 60$ games.
The truth is, if this happens it will hurt the game industry as bad as this is hurting the music industry. You might cite apples Ipod as an example to prove digital distribution is the future.
The problem is, the ipod has many advantages over retail discs. For example you get to buy the songs you want, and only the songs you want. The UI is another example. But further more, no one really buys songs for the Ipod. Everyone gets songs free off of lime wire. If the IPOD had no strengths over CDs, the Ipod would of dailed. The IPOD wouldn't of succeeded just because of digital distribution. Things don't succeed just because they are new.
If digital distribution takes over the game industry. Im going to spend as much as I do on games as I do on music now. 0$ a year despite having more songs to listen to then ever. And a lot of people are going to do the same. The game industry will be a wreak.
Maybe im wrong. But I have yet to see one method of digital distribution for games that has an even remote chance of having mainstream potential.
I mean, the only reason I buy any game software through digital distribution is because it cannot be found at retail outlets. I buy DLC all the time. But if that content was available at retail I, and everyone else would pick it up there.
never$$hort @ Apr 12th 2008 8:22PM
I agree, we need both options for those very reasons.
Daniel @ Apr 12th 2008 8:27PM
Agreed. Everytime I hear DD is the wave of the future, I say "ugh" it makes me sick to my stomach. I hate digital download games. It's fine for games like Pain and it does give independant companies (such as the company that made Pain) a chance to shine but as for full games (like Warhawk and Gran Turismo 5P) I don't like the idea of spending that much money on something I don't have a hard copy of. Not to mention I have 100's of games. If they were all DD it would take 100's of GBs of space so for DD's to become mainstream, HD space needs to become much bigger and CHEAPER first.
rob @ Apr 12th 2008 11:52PM
To Ghostbuddy:
That's not true. Digital distribution, you can still trade with friends. Just give your friends your account and have them download it. It's more trouble, but then again, we don't know how fast internet is by then, so it might be really quick. They can allow a "trial" period like a lot of current programs (example: microsoft vista) that acts like rental, and it could even be free, basically demo, but the full game. I dont understand why there wouldn't be bc, look at virtual console. You can't return a game now. If your hardware breaks, just fix it, and redownload everything from your account. Same with virus. Again, we don't know how fast internet will be by 2018, so maybe download a 50 gig might only take 15 minutes. Game distribution is...obviously casual friendly. If you want to buy a game (even now) you have to go through some form of game distribution, hard copy or digital download. More and more people are putting their credit cards online for things much more expensive than $60. Hell, I pay all my bills online, that adds up to hundreds of dollars a month. Most people's bank accounts are online. Most credit card companies allow online. Most retail stores have online outlets. I don't see the problem with putting money online. And this could even be avoided if Sony or MS or Nintendo just allow "Game cards" to be bought retail, like gift cards. I can see this happening by 2018, but it all depends on the global internet connection. If we all have at least T3, then DD makes sense. If we still use dial-up/DSL/Cable, then absolutely no.
buzzbean @ Apr 14th 2008 11:16AM
I agree with 90% of what you are saying. DD works for games like pj:m, pain, etc. tiny games you buy on a whim. But if I am paying $60 for a game that I know I will not play forever, I will want to trade, cash in those games. DD, is nice for the instant factor, and most definitely has proven itself with game add-ons. For the guy who gives access to his account to his friends??? I hope you have really trustworthy friends.
nillaP @ Apr 12th 2008 9:21PM
wut about all of the places like game stop that would suffer
TorontoGuy @ Apr 13th 2008 5:17PM
I realize that there are many people who have some kind of vested interest in Digital Downloads of games or HD movies and there is no shortage of predictions of the immenent disappearance of physical media...but I don't think it will even happen.As a case in point, today I went out to buy a copy of WarHawk (with the BT headset) for my girlfriend's daughter. It took me roughly 10 minutes to drive to the store and pick up the game. However, when we got home, there were updates to download and install. Suffice to say, it took 6x longer to download the update than it did to buy the game...almost an hour. How long would the entire game have taken.Warhawk is an interesting example because there is a disc version AND a downloadable PSN version available. The PSN version has less content than the disc version (and it had the BT hardware as well). Why would I want to spend my evening watching the download progress inch its way to 100% when I could be playing?Also, the Digital download supporters have yet to address the real issue of ISP 'traffic shaping' where providers purposely reduce the amount of available bandwidth between certain peak hours specifically to discourage downloading and P2P file transfers. These policies will effectively kill downloads of everything but patches, updates and trailers.So, don't expect to see the end of physical media anytime soon...it ain't gonna happen.
massive_98 @ Apr 12th 2008 9:47PM
Well, I'll be part of that 10%. Heck, I'm still buying CDs. Also with jobs being lost left and right we can't afford to lose more to technology.
Phizzy @ Apr 13th 2008 5:22AM
'Bought online' doesn't mean downloaded. I buy games online all the time.
dragomshaz @ Apr 13th 2008 6:02AM
Its true that digital distrubution will take over the future but then again it has bad sides to it like what ghostbuddy said.I have feeling digital distrubution will have its limit,heck i think it can do it now as digital distrubution is happening now.
David @ Apr 13th 2008 7:16AM
I will NEVER download my games as long as they cost the same, sometimes more as they do in stores. If i am getting less for my money i expect to pay less too. GT5 is a perfect example costing more to download then it does in stores.
Kruegmeister @ Apr 13th 2008 4:58PM
I'll go with No as well.
I cannot trade in or sell a PSN purchased Game.
I also prefer a Manual I can read when Not playing the game.
If the Price is the Same then the better deal is to buy it on Disc because you can sell it or trade it in.
My Future Prediction...
"Maguire will be serving Fries because he does not know what he is talking about"
bourne6 @ Apr 13th 2008 10:28PM
i like seeing my game collection all lined up on my shelf.
Rated-G @ Apr 14th 2008 1:48PM
Well at least that's a little more feasible than "in the next 18 months."
bugatti23007 @ Apr 14th 2008 2:19PM
There will be no where near 90% of people buying online because there will always be people that go to school and save their lunch money on a regular bases so they can afford to buy video games because parents will only buy a few games for their child when the child knows very well that their are about 40 great games that they want and at least half end up being above average to awesome games. Which is why they rely on buying from a local retail store like best buy,circuit city,costco,walmart and so on.Also many people worry about online identify theft which will never be stopped or slowed down.The other problem is waiting a long time for their games to arrive in the mail because most people don't want to spend extra money for overnight delivery when they're already paying 65 plus tax for 1 game.